Holi Skincare And Haircare

We Indians have always loved all the seasons in the year and we embrace and celebrate them all with colourful splendour. But none is as vibrant and colourful as the festival of colours itself, the festival to herald the arrival of spring after the cold and dreary winter months, the festival of colours, Holi!

While we all enjoy playing with the colours, we all agree that’s the Holi colours wreak havoc on our skin and hair. Once the celebrations are over, the torturous task of getting all the colour out of our skin and hair remains and in our zeal to get rid of all the colour, we end up with dry, rough skin and hair. Well, fret not. With these skincare and hair are tips, you will be able to enjoy your Holi without harming your skin and hair.

HOLI SKINCARE AND HAIRCARE

Pre-Holi Skincare and Haircare

Before you head out to play Holi, follow these steps to protect your skin and hair:

• Oil your hair  – Yes, Deepika Padukone looks stunning in the Balam Pichkari song with her long, loose tresses. Trust me, she mush have used tons of protective products during the shoot as well as had loads of indulgent hair spa sessions post shoot to rescue her hair from the damage. The simplest way of protecting the hair and scalp from damage from the Holi colours is to oil it! No matter what oil you prefer, I would advise you to add a bit of castor oil to it and then apply. Since castor oil is thick and sticky, it forms a good barrier over the hair and scalp and prevents the colours from penetrating the hair shaft or sticking too much to to the scalp (of course, it also depends on the kind of colours yoU use). I like to use my own blend of hair oil that I’ve mentioned in this post.

• Apply nail polish – Sounds weird? Nail polish when the nails are anyway going to get stained with the Holi colour? Well, applying nail polish will protect your nails from the colour and though your nails will get stained, the colour will come off with the polish when you remove it with a remover, which it wouldn’t had you not put the polish.

• Apply serum / moisturiser / body lotion – Along with hydrating and nourishing your skin wile you play Holi, these products will form the first layer of barrier against the colour. Of course, your skin is also going to be dry from the winter months so you don’t want to dry it out further by letting the colours sit on bare skin. Use body butter or even an oil if your skin is very dry.

• Apply sunscreen to all exposed parts of the body – This is very, very important! Where will you be playing Holi? Duh, obviously outdoors. During the day. Sometimes even till 1 or 2pm. And Holi or not, what do you need to protect yourself from during that time? Yup, the UV rays of the sun! Be very generous wiTh the sunscreen and apply it to all the exposed parts of the body. Everyone applies it on the face but don’t forget the ears, the nape of the neck, arms and legs. Besides protecting you from the sun, it will also form the second layer of barrier against the colour. And don’t forget to apply sunscreen on the children too! Their skin is more delicate and needs more protection. Some of my favourite sunscreens are the L’Oreal UV Perfect Aqua Essence and the Vichy Capital Soleil. For children, I prefer to buy the Banana Boat sunscreen mist that can be sprayed on. Very convenient.

• Use safe colours – I shouldn’t even be saying this actually.  We all read about people getting skin burns and other infections after using colours that are loaded with harmful chemicals. Why take a risk when there are natural, chemical free colours available?  Since the last few years, I have been buying Holi colours from Om Ved which are gentle, made from natural products like flowers, turmeric etc and smell nice too!

Post-Holi Skincare and Haircare

So you’re done playing Holi and are back home in a colourful, unrecognisable state, what do you do? Hit the shower? Try to wash off the colour with soap and water? That’s the mistake most of us make. This is what you should do….

• Dust off as much colour as you can – It is easier to remove the colour while it is still dry. Take old towels and napkins and try and dust off as much of it as you can before getting into the shower and getting wet. Of course, don’t rub too vigorously or you’ll harm your skin and scalp.

• Use an oil-based makeup remover – Do not, I repeat, do not try to remove the colour directly with soap and water. Use a good oil-based makeup remover like a the Clarins Total Cleansing Oil or even a cleansing balm, basically, anything that gently removes even waterproof makeup. Use it on your face, neck, arms, legs…everywhere and then, when you emulsify it with the water, you will see how easily you manage to get most of the colour off. Use this even for the kids because it is gentler and more effective than trying to remove the colour with soap/shower gel and water.

• Shampoo and hair mask – Now you can shampoo your hair. Remember to be very gentle and not scratch your scalp roughly in an attempt to get all the colour out. Since you have oil in your hair, you would need to shampoo twice and  that, usually, is enough to get the colour out as well. I would highly recommend my current favourite shampoo from Om Ved since it is sulphate and paraben free and truly a wonderful shampoo. Instead of a conditioner, I would recommend using an intensive, hydrating hair mask to nourish and pamper your hair. I love the Rusk Sensories Wellness Bedew treatment since it really makes my hair smooth and relatively frizz-free.

• Shower. No body scrub – Wash off all the cleansing oil and colour residue with a gentle shower gel or a moisturising soap. Do not use a body scrub. The skin will be a little sensitive so avoid anything abrasive.

• Pamper the skin with body lotion/butter – After the shower, it’s time again to hydrate the skin with a rich body lotion or a body butter. For the face too, follow with your normal skincare routine.

These tips aren’t just something I’ve taken off the internet. This is actually what I have been doing for Holi since the last few year. Before I discovered cleansing oil, I would use a cleansing milk, but of course, the oil works far better.  All this might seem like too much work and effort but trust me, it is worth it. After all, no gains without pains, right?

Do let me know what you think of these Holi skincare and haircare tips. Would you try them out or do you think they are too time consuming? I’m looking forward to your comments 🙂